A goldsmith immersed in the production of jewelry on the unit. | Photo credit: S. Siva Saravanan
About 30,000 jewelers in Tamil Nadu will stop selling gold coins and will not support gold savings schemes and other promotional schemes in the state, Tamil Nadu Jewelers Federation president B. Sabarinath said on Wednesday.
Following the increase in import duty on gold jewelery and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s concerns over foreign exchange reserves, the association said it was a measure it proposed to its members to help reduce gold imports.
“The import duty was increased overnight and there are rumors that GST may also be increased. The Reserve Bank of India alone acquired 125 tonnes of gold last month. Jewelers have taken loans from banks and they will be repaid if there is a curb in demand,” he said.
According to SM Kamal Hasan, president of the Coimbatore Goldsmiths’ Association, the retail price of gold rose by ₹1,000 per gram on Wednesday as the government hiked taxes by 10%. Gold price was ₹14,400 per gram in Coimbatore on Tuesday. It rose to ₹15,400 per gram on Wednesday. Of this, taxes alone account for ₹3,000.
With the wedding season peaking next month, we have to wait and see how the spending will be, he said.
Coimbatore has nearly 35,000 gold forges employing nearly 1 million people.
Sabarinath added that sales have fallen by 60% over the past year due to fluctuating gold prices. “We have given the government a plan to bring into the system nearly 25,000 tonnes of gold lying idle with consumers. The government should involve jewelers in gold monetization schemes. It should also immediately ban ETFs and digital gold sales and clamp down on gold importers, distribution agents and bullion dealers,” he added.
Published – May 14, 2026 0:37 AM IST
